The PLAN
School-based management is the cornerstone of the plan and has been used effectively by many school districts, both large and small, to drive resources closer to the students.

The recommendations included in the plan were authored by members of the Pinellas Education Foundation, with input from leading education and economic experts, educators and business leaders.  The impetus for the plan came from Senator Don Gaetz, who as superintendent of Okaloosa County Schools brought that county’s school district from a state ranking of 27th to number 1 in Florida.  The plan also relies heavily on research done by Dr. Allan Odden from the University of Wisconsin.

Their research comes from proven models for increasing student performance that Pinellas County School District can adopt. 

Key recommendations include:

1.  Know Your Customers

This new approach recognizes that students, parents, taxpayers and the business community are customers of the educational system.   Members of the business community can advise the school district on the types of education and certifications needed for local careers.  This serves the needs of students for a high school education that is relevant to the real world.  Parents can become involved in the success of their children’s schools.  And taxpayers can get their money’s worth with a dramatically higher graduation rate of students who can go to work and benefit the local community.

2.  Reallocate Resources and Decentralize

Shift resources from the school district office to the schools, giving principals authority and training on financial and budgetary issues, allowing them to be wise managers of resources rather than consumers. Principals need more authority over resources to address the unique problems at their schools.  This decentralization model is also used in Australia and the United Kingdom.

3.  Create School Performance Plans

Each school builds a performance plan, using data and metrics to drive the decision making processes.  Principals assume responsibility as chief executives of their schools.  The principals are given the necessary training and resources and are then held accountable for the success or failure of their school plans.  In districts that have implemented this model, principals were more effective when they were held accountable for the school’s performance plan and they were given the resources to make the plan successful.

4.  End Social Promotions that Set Students Up to Fail

Students who are not performing at grade level must repeat the grade rather than advance to the next grade without merit.  Social promotion perpetuates mediocrity in our schools, allowing students and parents to believe that students are achieving standards that are not being met.  Promoting or passing students who have not met the requirements is a dishonest practice and often places teachers in a challenging environment where there is a wide disparity of academic achievement levels.  Schools must be responsible for each student’s success and must create plans for each student that are designed to help them succeed.  In addition, alternative education programs that have cost millions of dollars and had little impact on student achievement must be reviewed and, if determined to be ineffective, reduced or eliminated.  Money saved from school district decentralization can be used to provide tutoring for failing students to get to grade level.